


Lead by Time

by sunhyacinth



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Selectively Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Sign Language, all links have foul mouths, begining rewrite, erm i mean foul hands, king Rhoam didnt do the tutorial, the hero of time did instead
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-06-24 09:52:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19721275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunhyacinth/pseuds/sunhyacinth
Summary: Waking up in a bathtub is a terrible start to anyone's day, but also being thrown into a wild goose chase by some old dude you don't know is definitely on that list too. But, what if someone who had already been through Hylia's destiny obstacle course a couple times had been there? Someone who knew exactly what to do and where to start. Too bad Link didn't get either of those things. He got a snarky skeleton instead.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I got super sauced once and ranted for an hour about how King Rhoam shouldn't have led the tutorial in botw and that it should have been The hero's spirit/The hero of Time instead, so, here is my take on it!

Waking up felt awful. It was slow at first. Movement like mud, a voice calling his name, but panic came out of nowhere and Link shoots up. His breathing erratic and his heart is pounding. The blonde pushes his hands through his hair to calm himself a bit just to notice they were wet. Oh, most of his body is wet. He is sitting in some sort of tub? It’s really hard to think straight right now. He’s starting to feel a headache come on and the voice keeps calling his name. It sounds sort of familiar but at the same time it doesn’t. Pushing the panic welling up in him down, Link steps out of the weird tub. He shakes his feet trying to get the excess water off and wonders around the room.

The room is big, and glowing, the largest glowy thing in the middle of the room connected back to the tub he was in. There was also something else in the room. A pedestal, softly glowing as well. Everything almost felt like it was alive. The lights fading and brightening like breathing. The walls and machinery looked veined, it was beautiful and terrifying to look at and definitely not where he expected to wake up in.

Finally walking over to the pedestal, Link gave it a nervous poke. Whirling and clicking start and something pops up out of the top. Link’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline, there is no way he’s gonna touch whatever that is.

_‘This is a Shiekah slate. Take it. You will need it’_

Yeah, right, Link thought, rolling his eyes. Grabbing the spooky eyeball square is the last thing on his to do list. Especially since a disembodied voice was telling him to. He starts to walk away from said eyeball square-

_‘Link. I am **very** busy right now and I’m going to need you to work with me. Grab the slate.’ _

Oh, so the disembodied voice sounded pissed. Link quickly reaches the slate and grabs it. He doesn’t like this but he doesn’t like the tone of the scary voice more. A soft thank you was heard as the lights on the walls turn on. Shoving the slate thing in the waistband of his boxers he follows the lights. His bare footsteps echoing through the massive halls.

To Link’s relief he found some clothes in a chest. A dusty shirt, some almost threadbare pants and, old smelly boots. Sadly, the right boot had a hole near the big toe but the left was just fine. He quickly put on the musty smelling clothes and pulled the slate from his waistband and into his pocket.

When the halls start smelling like rain Link knows he’s reaching the exit. It’s about time honestly. Maybe he can find someone with a body that he can actually see to tell him what’s going on because he has no clue. The blonde reaches the outside only to be met with pouring rain. Great. Well that explains the smell of rain obviously.

It was breathtaking, even in the rain, the wide expanse of land before him. He could see everything from here. Mountains, rivers, and grassy plains all just laid out for him under the storm and gray skies. He really needed to find a place to stay dry that wasn’t the creepy bath cave.

An overhanging with a fire lit under it seemed promising and it wasn’t too far off. Hopefully whoever was squatting there wouldn’t mind a visitor. Or if it was a monster he would make short work of kicking their ass. Though he was a bit sore, maybe he shouldn’t have fallen asleep in a tub. Link sures himself up and makes his way down the hill quickly. Along the way he picks up a stick, it was a terrible makeshift weapon but it’s better than no weapon.

What he finds there is actually really gross. It looks like it used to be a soldier. Golden armor that has small intricate etchings, it would have been impressive if it weren’t for the huge gashes taken out of multiple places. There was also moss and small plants growing out of the crevices. But that isn’t even the worst part. There is a whole ass skeleton in the armor. Link covered his mouth with his hand in preparation for the scent of dead flesh and pokes the pile of metal and bones just to satiate curiosity.

_‘You are really gonna poke a skeleton with a stick, little hero?’_

Okay. What the fuck. A red glow started in one of the eye sockets and finger bones started to sign. Link jumps back two feet and readys his pathetic stick to attack. His heart is in his throat and he’s not quite sure if he can fight this thing. The skeleton sits up straighter but still relaxed and his fingers move again.

_‘Alright buddy, we can do this two ways. I can take you to pain town, which would be **very** easy considering you have a twig. Or, you can sit down and we can have a chat like adults.’ _

The clacking and scraping of brittle bones as it signed and the terrifying blank look on this thing’s face made this whole experience much more scary. it had become the icing on the bad day cake. He might could even called it his worst day ever but he can’t even remember anything to compare it to! But Link isn’t stupid, he’s not gonna sit down next to **that**.

 _‘I think I’m good where I am.’_ The blondes hands were shaking a bit and he cursed himself for letting his fear show.

 _‘Suit yourself Link.’_ He was waved off with dismissive hands. Wait a second.

 _‘How do you know my name?’_ Link was thrown into high alert.

 _‘Because it’s also mine. Did they really not teach you anything about yourself? It’s really no wonder you failed.’_ The skeleton put his hands on his face as if he were in disbelief. This didn’t make any sense. It was named Link too? And what did he fail at? Link’s eyebrows knit together as they both stewed in their confusion. The skeleton shakes his skull back and forth causing some dirt and leaves to detach from the armor.

 _‘Okay I think it would be easier if you could just tell me what you know. That way I can find a starting point.’_ The armor screeches as it rests an elbow on a barrel and a hand to its skull looking ready to listen. This thing somehow looks as annoyed and confused as Link does so he takes it as a sign that he can relax for now. The blonde scratches at his head a bit thinking about what it was exactly that he did know. It didn’t feel like a lot. He shrugged and started to move his hands.

 _‘My name is Link. And I woke up in a bathtub and I-’_ Fingers abruptly stopped. Was that it? Link’s eyes were wide in shock from this revelation. That can’t be it. His head looked to the ground trying to remember anything else but all he saw was his borrowed shoes on the damp ground. The skeleton face palmed, somehow looking more annoyed than before. It’s armored foot comes up and stomps the ground to get Link’s attention. The motion snaps Link out of his little freak out session he was having with himself.

 _‘Cool’_ Skeletal fingers start with irritation heavy on a skull that shouldn’t hold any emotion, _‘So from the beginning then, I guess.’_

 _‘You at least know the story of the hero right?’_ Excited to know something Link shakes his head. _‘Great I don’t gotta explain the long part then. So bud, you are the chosen hero this time around. But something messed up because I don’t see the master sword on your back and Hyrule looks fucked.’_ It points to a castle that is far in the distance. It has a purple swirling storm almost engulfing the entire castle. It was absolutely right, Hyrule looked fucked.

 _‘What’s also concerning is the fact that the timing is off by a hundred years or so. And that you don’t remember anything.’_ The skeleton is taking a second to think things over but Link snaps to get its attention. He has way too many questions now.

 _‘It’s late? How do you know?’_ The skeleton’s shoulders shake up and down in a silent laugh. A scowl reaches Link’s face, he doesn’t see what’s so funny.

 _‘It’s kinda my thing. Remember how I said my name is also Link? I was the chosen hero a very very long time ago, the hero of time specifically. And being the hero of time has its perks, like knowing the correct flow of events and when they are scheduled to happen, plus some other fun stuff I can do but that’s not relevant right now.’_ The blondes brows knit together somehow more confused than before.

 _‘Wait, so you are like me? What happened to you? Why are you all… like that?’_ He gestures vaguely to the skeleton’s whole body. Bones rattled so loudly it startled poor Link. The weird skeleton laugh trailed off as it looked like it was trying to catch its non existent breath.

 _‘I died, dumb ass.’_ It slaps its knee as if it told a punch line to a joke. ‘And it's the coolest form I can take. If you could turn into a skeleton for fun wouldn’t you do that, like, constantly?’ Oh it had a point. Link absolutely would.

 _‘Okay, say that I believe all this, what now?’_ Link is always ready to fight something but there is a lot of nervousness in his gut telling him that storming the castle with his stick would be a terrible idea. The skeleton looks a bit lost now, scratching at his helmet in thought.

 _‘Honestly, I’ve got no clue. Hylia didn’t really send me down with an instructional pamphlet. I’m more of a cat she sends into a barn when there are pests.’_ It continues to sign one handed while fiddling with the fire. _‘And this is actually the first time I’ve been sent anywhere, last time I sought out the twilight hero for my own reasons.’_

 _‘Oh Hylia, I must have fucked up bad.’_ Link throws his hands in his hair, frustrated. It’s one thing to mess up, but it appears that Link messed up enough to have Hylia to send in reinforcements.

 _‘I’ll say. Do you have anything to tell us where to start?’_ As soon as the skeleton finishes Link is instantly reminded of the voice and the weird thing he has on his hip. He struggles to grip it for a second and pulls it out.

 _‘This! I have this… thingy! A mean disembodied voice told me it was a uhh, Sheikah Slate? And that I would need it.’_ His hands were frantic and excited. The skeleton gave a look of relief because now they had something and wouldn’t have to start from absolutely nowhere.

 _‘Thank Hylia, the Sheikah always keep their fingers in the destiny sauce so this is perfect.’_ The skeleton jumps up out of his seat and starts to leave the overhanging. _‘C’mon little hero, let's figure this out and kick Gannon’s ass.’_ The two heroes start to make their way to a tower shown on the slate with a little blip. Link was ready. He doesn’t know what he did wrong last time but this time he’s gonna get it right.

Link was fucking tired, okay? He spent the last couple of days running around following the little blips on the slate thing. But, oh Hylia, this thing was cool as fuck. It had unlimited bombs! It could freeze objects in time! He could also teleport! But only to shrines he’s already been, which kinda sucked. It was also a magnet, which was very helpful when he dropped the first real sword he found into a lake. The skeleton wouldn’t let him live it down for the rest of the day.

And the skeleton guy? He’s actually pretty cool. Link has decided to call him Time. Since you know, hero of time is a hand full. And ‘skeleton guy’ is cool but seems a little demeaning. They both sit at the fire at night time and Time tells stories of his past. To Link’s surprise he learned the hero was actually two separate dudes on different timelines and somehow a god for a short while. He was sick as fuck.

Time also had some pretty cool fighting techniques to teach Link considering how many adventures he had been on and also being a member of the royal guard. He said that Link was either an impossibly good natural or he had been trained. Link was really hoping for the first but had a feeling that the muscle memory he easily fell into was practiced. So, both of them kicking monster ass started turning into a game of ‘who could kill the most monsters’, sadly Link got his ass stomped. I guess being an age old hero came with its perks.

But, importantly Link was done with the scavenger hunt that the slate had given him and it was time to head off to the Sheikah. A little blip pointing him north east. Time was having a ball with the technology here by the way. Big spider looking monsters that shot lasers, the shrines, and the slate most of all. He said something about having to buy maps from a weird fairy guy in his 30s and was surprised that maps were free now. Link was secretly thankful for not having to deal with that. He’d climb a million towers not to deal with a weirdo like that.

Link tucks his rusty sword and his stick on to his back and begins to descend the plateau when he stops abruptly. Time isn’t following him.

 _‘You coming with?’_ His motions are small, and his face wears a small pout. Time gives a rattling skeleton laugh and pats Link on the shoulder.

 _‘This is your adventure, little hero, I’ve already had mine. I’m not leaving though, just light a fire, I’ll know.’_ A skeletal hand taps at his temple. _‘And remember, a sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage.’_

Link’s eyes roll so hard they could have fallen out. _‘That’s so cheesy. Did the last hero believe that?’_ Armor screeches as Time’s shoulders slump forward feeling a little defeated.

 _‘Yeah, he did, but he also wasn’t a cheeky little bitch either.’_ Finger bones moved pointedly. _‘You are lucky I don’t like the strong silent hero type. Go forth and wreak havoc on Gannon and the whole world while you are at it, wild child, I’ll be there when you need me.’_

With a two armed shove Link goes flying off the side of the plateau with a very unmanly squeal. His paraglider expands and he’s off. Link looks back to see bony arms wave him off and a flash of light. Time disappeared and he was alone for now, slowly careening to the ground. He points himself to land directly onto a bobokin, smacking the life right out of it and going about his way feeling a little sad because now he’s actually gotta get down to business, no more dicking around with Time on the plateau. He pulls out the slate and checks the map for directions, it’s gonna be a long trip but maybe the Sheikah have something to help him get his memories back. He shoves the slate back on his hip and heads off to fix his memories and whatever world saving feat he failed at the first time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Iv'e got some excellent ideas for continuing this if anyone is interested. Like fitting lore in where it connects in game and my headcannon that Calamity Gannon isn't actually Gannon. Plus some nice Hero of Twilight adventures cause he is a good boy. But anyway! Thanks again! Let me know if you liked it! Comments and Kudos are super appreciated!!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a bit shorter and its got some feelings. I also changed the first time Link sees a blood moon cause i wanted Time to see it too. But enjoy!

Alright so Link has a secret, or, he thinks it’s a secret. It’s kinda hard to know what’s secret and what’s common knowledge when you don’t know jack shit about yourself. But if it were up to him it would be. People make Link nervous as fuck. Firstly, they don’t really understand the whole ‘I can only talk sometimes’ thing. Secondly, most people don’t know Hylian sign so there goes his other method of conversation. So instead, he has to resort to head shakes and nods and thoughtful sounding ‘hmm’s. It’s draining as fuck. And unfortunately for Link he’s had a week full of it. He really just wanted to talk to someone who didn’t make him feel like he just ran a marathon.

Speaking of Time, he was right, the Sheikah most definitely had their fingers all in the destiny sauce. The eldest Sheikah, Impa, even clued him in on some important details that he couldn’t wait to tell Time. But, sadly he had a load of walking to do because he’s gotta go all over Hyrule to fix the divine beats first before any ass kicking can happen. He did get a cool blue shirt from the Sheikah though. Link immediately shed off the stolen one from the bath cave, shocking all the women in the room, and put the new one on. Link will agree that maybe it wasn’t the brightest move but he really did hate the shirt.

Link decided that he needed some company after traveling to his next destination in Hateno. He found a grassy hill with a large flagpole on the outskirts of town and lit a fire, half expecting the same flash of light he saw when Time disappeared on the plateau, but nothing happened. He waited for, like, ten whole minutes! Link’s eyes rolled and his ears wilted a bit. Maybe he isn’t coming ba-

“Hello again, little hero, you rang?” Link jumps up and backs into the flagpole bonking his head on it, absolutely startled by the stranger's voice. His eyes found the figure in front of him lit up by the fire. A tall man, silver hair framing his face, with what looked like red and blue face paint. Or, were they tattoos? But this guy just went and popped a squat right next to his fire. Not even caring that Link pulled a sword out on him. 

Link finally put two and two together, remember that Time could change forms. He puts his sword away and give Time a look that could kill.

‘ _ You scared the shit out of me dude!’ _ Fingers moving fast and angry fell flat on Time’s shit eating grin. ‘ _ I was about to stab you!’ _ A hearty laugh fills the silent air of the night.

“What did you expect me to do? Show up on the edge of town as a skeleton? That would have went real well with anyone who decided to take a midnight stroll.” His smile was bright, still lingering from seeing Link’s terrified face.

_ ‘You did it to me, asshole.’  _ Link gave a pout and slumped his hands into his lap as he sat back down.

“Yeah, you’re right, but that was hilarious. Especially with your little stick.” Link gives a flabbergasted gasp and Time falls over laughing.

_ ‘Anyway, dick, I got some nice juicy details from the Sheikah that I think you will enjoy. And check out my new shirt! They gave it to me!’  _ Time gives a snort at Link’s excited expressions about the shirt, but to be fair it was pretty cool.

“Well lay it on me, little hero, give me the news.” Time adjusts himself into a laying position to optimize his comfort to watch what Link had to tell.

Link’s face wore a bright smile and his hands started to move.  _ ‘I died!’  _

Time’s face fell. That would definitely explain the absolute fuckery that Hyrule was dealing with. Killing the hero would mess up the cycle pretty good. Time’s eyes are called back to Link as he claps his hands, wanting to continue.

_ ‘Okay so, I died and then I got put in the tub cave and took a hundred year nap!’  _ Link gives an almost audible giggle.  _ ‘That means I’m 120 now and I can legally drink!’  _ The little hero pumps his arms in the air triumphantly. ‘ _ Also, I’ve got to go across the fucking country to save all the divine beasts. That’s gonna suck considering I can only teleport to places I’ve already been.’ _ Time sits up a bit interested now.

“Wait, what are the divine beasts?” Curiosity heavy in Time’s voice.

_ ‘I think they are like big robots the champions pilot to help fight the Calamity Gannon. But they all failed, like I did, so now I gotta get them back.’  _ Link made an irritated face, pausing his explanation.  _ ‘If the champions also failed was it because I did? Or were we just a group of fuck ups and it was all doomed to fail?’  _ Link’s ears drooped, he was getting caught up in his emotions. 

Did everyone die because of him? Was he really that important? Time seemed to notice his downward spiral and threw a pebble at Link’s head. A small ouch was heard.

“Nope! Bad Link! None of that. Nothing is your fault, shit just happens buddy. And I’m sure once you get your memories back you will know that for sure.” Time’s tone was stern as he sat up, legs crossed. He knew what happened when you gave into those thoughts. All you get is nights of crying by yourself at a fire and a good old case of depression.

Link’s arm goes to his neck to rub at it a bit.  _ ‘Yeah, about that. Impa said they had no way to fix my memories. But I could check with the people who made the bath cave, one of them is here in Hateno. I’m going there tomorrow morning so I’m not completely out of options.’  _ Link takes a deep breath and straighten up. _ ‘But actually, fuck them. I don’t want them.’ _

Time’s eyes widen at Link’s little confession. “You don’t?” He asks, with slight surprise.

_ ‘Nope!’ _ Link signs pointedly. ‘ _ I’m over a hundred years old and anyone I could have known is dead. And I don’t want to start mourning everyone I used to know. It would just be sad.’  _ Especially his parents, if he had any, or what if he had a best friend? He seriously doubted it but still, that would blow.

Time takes a moment to think on that, it’s probably the most mature thing Link has ever said in his life. Figuring the mood was a little too heavy for either one of them to tolerate Time changes the subject. 

“Cool, so, what’s for dinner little hero?” Time says casually. Link gives a feral grin and lifts a finger up, indicating he needs a moment, and starts reaching into the slate. It’s still so odd how things can be stored in that weird little thing, but Link pulls out a myriad of different vegetables and other ingredients. 

_ ‘I found some pumpkins! So I was thinking about some pumpkin stew!’ _ He paused his hands for a moment.  _ ‘Wait… you can eat?’  _

Time let’s a laugh bubble out. “Yeah, in this form I can. Can’t really swallow a whole lot when you don’t have a throat. It will just go through me, it’s actually kinda hilarious, remind me later when we aren’t on the edge of town and I’ll show you.” Link exhales through his nose in lieu of a laugh. The mental image is already too much for him. 

Link gets to work quickly stirring things and Time loses his mind when Link starts to cut vegetables with a short sword. The smaller hero just shoots a very vulgar finger to Time’s laughing. Not even looking up from his very important work. 

Dinner is done quite quickly and it smells delicious. Both of them practically inhaling it all in a matter of minutes. 

Time pauses, something isn’t right. Link notices too and both of them bolt up looking around to find anything out of the ordinary. Link is the first to look up. The sky is red. And not like a sun set on the horizon. Blood red. The moon looks like it’s bleeding all over the sky. 

**_‘... Link... Link... Be on your guard. Ganon's power grows...it rises to its peak under the hour of the blood moon. By its glow, the aimless spirits of monsters slain in the name of the light return to flesh. Link...please be careful’_ **

It’s the voice from the bath cave. It sounds like it’s inside of Links head. Immediately his head snaps to the forest across the way. He had killed all of them in those woods. Link’s eyes widened, a look of horror came across his face. The bokoblins dead corpses were rising. Bones cracking back into place and heads returning to the owners bodies. His head turns to Time.

“What the actual fuck is happening here?” Time’s expression is unreadable. Face stoic but eyes the size of dinner plates.

_ ‘Did you hear that?’  _ Link points to his head and Time nods his head. Zelda. Or at least this iteration of Zelda.  _ ‘Well this certainly complicates things.’  _ Link’s hands are frantic and sloppy, letting Time know that he is a lot more freaked out than he is letting on.

“Understatement of the century.” Time says plainly. Link grabs his sword and shoots the silver haired a very knowing look with the tiniest hint of a smirk. Time's eyebrows shot up, well, Link got over that quickly. This kid is a fucking enigma. A sigh leaves the old hero with a smile growing on his face. “Alright let's go put these bastards to bed again, but be careful, we just ate, you could get indigestion or a cramp.” 

Link looks at Time like he is insane before a genuine laugh leaves his body.  _ ‘Fuck off, dad.’  _

Time gave a flabbergasted gasp and chased after the little fucker down the hill into the dark woods. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm definitely going to continue this! if you wanted to chat with me about this fic or about legend of Zelda in general i have a Tumblr, aherosshade. Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! I love you guys!


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